Produce, Pesticides and Tap Water/5-Second Rule
For some reason I’ve always been a skeptic when it came to rinsing fruit and vegetables under the faucet before eating, but not anymore. I guess it would’ve paid to Google “rinsing produce pesticides worth my precious 30 seconds?” a couple decades ago…
Removal of Trace Pesticide Residues from Produce
Long story short, this study from Connecticut recommends the following:
- At a minimum rinse all fresh produce under tap water for at least thirty seconds.
- The mechanical action of rubbing the produce under tap water is likely responsible for removing pesticide residues. Mild detergents or fruit and vegetable washes do not enhance the removal of pesticide residues from produce above that of rinsing with tap water alone.
Touché, Connecticut. I’ll shutter the spit-polish method. But I’m keeping my 5-second rule.
Mmm Hmm! Get a load of this, courtesy of The New York Times:
Last month, researchers affiliated with the World Health Organization and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine reported that, worldwide, people’s waistlines are expanding, with the total combined weight of human beings on Earth now exceeding 287 million tons. A third of that global human biomass exists in North America, although we account for only 6 percent of the world’s population.
I think there are a lot of people/edible objects/should not be but are somehow considered edible objects we could thank for this achievement, but I would like to honor my home state of Iowa by shining the spotlight on one in particular:
Bread to America as Rice to Korea/Bread to America as Kimchi to Korea/Bread to America as Kelp to Korea, etc.
This is a good article from the Nutrition Diva, whose articles I’ve never read until now:
Are Grains Really Necessary for a Healthy Diet?
I’ve suspected for the past year that grains, even whole grains, do not provide any essential nutrients absent in fruits, vegetables and meats. The Diva tends to agree with me:
Do You Really Need to Eat Grains?
So why do so many dietary guidelines emphasize the importance of whole grains? Well, as I mentioned above, research shows that people whose diets are high in whole grains have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and tend to be leaner and healthier. But most if not all of these studies are comparing people who eat whole grains with people who eat refined grains, or things made from white flour. They’re not comparing people who eat whole grains with people who eat little or no grains.
It’s pretty clear that replacing refined grains with whole grains is a step in the right direction. What’s not as clear is whether the benefits that are usually attributed to whole grain consumption really come from eating more whole grains—or whether these benefits are really the result of eating fewer refined grain products.
Some people argue that you’d be better off without any grains at all—and I’d have to agree that grains are not essential to a healthy diet. If you prefer to eliminate them, you have my blessing. For most people, however, a diet including whole grains is more convenient, affordable, practical, and familiar—and I think it can also be a perfectly healthy choice.
The heavy recommendation of grains as a part of our daily diet is more a reflection of our culture than an objective cultural assessment. Since most Americans would have a hell of a time extracting bread from their diet, doctors would get a whooping if they did not at least give it their stamp of not disapproval, if you get my drift.
Cheetos Ad/Banana Smear Campaign
Hapt across this ad while I was walking off an especially carb-heavy dinner tonight.
Maybe I will, but not until you tell me what a Cheeto is.
For real– what the hell is a Cheeto? Puffed cornmeal? How do they get them so crunchy then? And do they contain any actual cheese?
And is the mascot a cheetah only because the names are so similar? Or was the name of the snack inspired by the surprisingly terrific skateboarding cheetah sketch the office temp got caught doodling absent-mindedly during one of the weekly PepsiCo staff meetings?
“I was about to fire you, kid, but I’m going to give you a promotion instead. Put some sunglasses on this guy and we’ll have those pre-tweens licking Cheeto dust off our palms!”
Pesticides Favor Most Delicious Fruit/Farmers Market Across Town Suddenly More Appealing
I am rather nonplussed to report that my diet primarily consists of the most pesticide-riddled produce. This is according to the EWG’s 2012 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce:
Dirty Dozen Plus
1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Sweet bell peppers
4. Peaches
5. Strawberries
6. Nectarines (imported)
7. Grapes
8. Spinach
9. Lettuce
10. Cucumbers
11. Blueberries (domestic)
12. Potatoes
Plus: Green beans and leafy greens
Why, Apples, why? We have such a long and colored history together. God knows I’ve eaten so many of you during my life time that I most assuredly already have cancer.
And Celery! Don’t you know you are an indispensable component of my late night ants on a log treat?
Seriously, I eat every single item on that list regularly except potatoes, which rank at #12 anyway. Makes me wonder if I just like the taste of pesticide.
I can’t help but notice that this blog gets a lot of hits from people Googling Jerry Baker fertilizers. So, per the people’s request, and in order to rake in more hits, I present an additional post of ambiguous utility that will nevertheless appear as a search result. Enjoy!
When Laxatives Cause Constipation/Hamburgers Eat People
I was Googling constipation statistics today (you know, just for fun), and I came across this fun fact, courtesy of the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearing House (NDDICH):
The common belief that people must have a daily bowel movement has led to self-medicating with OTC laxative products. Although people may feel relief when they use laxatives, typically they must increase the dose over time because the body grows reliant on laxatives in order to have a bowel movement. As a result, laxatives may become habit-forming.
I feel like there must be a Rush Limbaugh-pill addiction-“maybe that’s why he’s fat because he’s been addicted to laxatives all along and he’s full of shit” joke hidden somewhere in there, but Wit has failed me. Hélas!
Omega-3 Debunkage/Heart Invincibility
Apparently Omega-3 supplements don’t protect you from heart failure, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. I think that includes fish oil pills, which I take whenever I feel guilty for not meeting my weekly ceviche quota.
On that note, diets high in fish have been associated with lowered risk of heart failure (HF) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). My question is when are they going to come out with a study linking daily fish taco consumption with heart invincibility (HI).
Please, Science, please!
As we say in America, “True until proven false.”
Psoriasis and Diabetes/Nicholas Cage Photo
I have to say I’m impressed with Yahoo’s Health News section. Maybe I won’t vouch for the quality, but they certainly deliver in quantity whenever I find myself craving the latest beat on Diseases/Conditions.
Yesterday they relayed a Reuters article on a recent study correlating the skin condition psoriasis with heightened risk for type 2 diabetes:
Researchers found that was especially true in those with severe psoriasis, who were 46 percent more likely to get a diabetes diagnosis than people without the condition, after weight and other health measures were taken into account.
I don’t want to play medical expert, but I am aware of a wealth of anecdotal evidence linking diet and most skin diseases, such as acne, eczema and psoriasis. It doesn’t surprise me that sufferers of these disorders and diabetes alike are advised to avoid the same general category of foods: refined carbs, high-sugar products and processed foods, among other things (for example, this site and this site).
Of course, that’s just the age we live in. We can blame sugar on everything these days. It’s terrific. As the old new adage goes: “When in doubt, attribute the cause of any dubious non-communicable disease to foods high in Glycemic Index that lead to insulin resistance.” I think Ben Franklin’s great-great-great grandson coined that one. You know who I’m talking about.
Pizza Vending Machine/America’s Incipient Downfall
I feel compelled to re-blog anything quirky pertaining to things that will make our population fatter.
The LA Times blog reported on a new pizza vending machine distributed by a Dutch company called A1 Concepts. Apparently it’s already a hit in Italy.
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Most surprising to me is how good those pizzas actually look. Hot N’ Readies they are not– these vending machine pies, sold for about $6, look like they might as well be on par with California Pizza Kitchen. It’s enough to make pizzaiolis cringe either way, and pizza lovers who already take advantage of the pervasive $5 large shitty pizza á la Little Caesars may deem these too fancy (ie thin-crust) for their tastes.
My guess is that Let’s Pizza will mostly appeal to the Trader Joe’s demographic, those health-literate individuals who purport to respect their bodies but still routinely fail to resist the allure of aged cheeses, frozen pork buns, Two-Buck Chuck, and discount Tiramisu.
Bigg Centenarian Blog 